There was a moment in President Barack Obama’s news conference Thursday that should have resonated with those of us who live in San Diego, or anyone else who grew up on or lives near a beach or a coast or, in Obama’s case, an island.

“I grew up in Hawaii,” Obama said, “where the ocean is sacred. And when you see birds flying around with ... with oil all over their feathers and turtles dying ... this speaks to, you know, how are we caring for this incredible bounty that we have?”

The same thought must be occurring to the people of Louisiana, the state hit the hardest by a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Many of those people have been critical of what they perceive to have so far been an inadequate response from an administration that has left too much of the decision-making and action to the company responsible for the spill in the first place. The president says he understands the frustration.

“These are folks who grew up fishing in these wetlands,” Obama said, “and, you know, seeing this as an integral part of who they are. And to see that messed up in this fashion would be infuriating.”

Quite correct. This incident is infuriating, and not just to the people of Louisiana. The oil spill should infuriate all Americans but especially those of us who live at the water’s edge and, as the president said, consider the ocean sacred.

It’s been 37 days since the Deepwater Horizon platform exploded. The spill – which has gushed millions of gallons of oil – has endangered the local fishing industry and threatens to damage coastal wetlands and wildlife for generations. And no one knows for certain how to plug the hole. BP, the company responsible for the spill and the cleanup, is trying to stop the leak using a procedure called a “top kill.” Still, there is no guarantee of success. We’ll have to wait and see.

This much we can be sure about: This horrible tragedy is a cautionary tale for politicians who like to get crowds revved up by chanting “drill, baby, drill” and for multibillion-dollar companies that line their pockets by treating the world’s great water masses as their own private tide pools and then cut corners to maximize profits, as BP has been accused of doing by some of its own workers. It’s also a warning that government regulators have to do a much better job of policing the oil industry, with which they have had – as Obama pointed out during the news conference – an admittedly “cozy and sometimes corrupt relationship.” And lastly, it’s a solemn reminder that all of us are just temporarily renting this space on Earth and that we have a responsibility to leave our children and grandchildren the same abundant resources and natural beauty that was left in our care.

It is time that Obama, his administration and the private companies involved stop pointing fingers of blame and focus exclusively on ending the disaster in the gulf as quickly as humanly possible.